Synthesis and conformational studies of hyperbranched-core star polymers with poly(?-benzyl-L-glutamate) arms

A general methodology for the synthesis of star polymers with large number of polypeptide arms is described. The synthesis is based on the arm-first step-growth polymerization of bifunctional macromonomers by coppercatalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition. Star polymers with up to 18 poly-gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate (PBLG) arms have been synthesized and characterized. It is shown that the preferred secondary structure of PBLG is significantly affected by the degree of chain packing/crowding.

Automated summary

A general methodology for synthesizing star polymers with a large number of polypeptide arms is presented. The synthesis involves the arm-first step-growth polymerization of bifunctional macromonomers using copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition. Star polymers with up to 18 poly-gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate (PBLG) arms have been successfully synthesized and characterized. The secondary structure of PBLG is found to be greatly influenced by the degree of chain packing/crowding.